Considering Duke Biomedical Engineering?

Biomedical engineering applies the engineering sciences to advance knowledge and solve problems in biology and medicine. Such work is at the interface between traditional engineering and medicine. As a result, biomedical engineering education requires integration of life sciences and traditional engineering curricula.

Biomedical engineering is a rapidly evolving field over the past few decades. Currently, its areas of research and education include:

Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Biomechanics of Tissues, Cells and Molecules

Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering

Tissue Engineering and Artificial Organs

Electrophysiology

Cardiovascular Engineering

Neural Engineering

Orthopedic Engineering

Respiratory Systems Engineering

Drug and Gene Delivery

Biomedical Instrumentation and Devices

Biomedical Imaging

Biophotonics

Genomic Technology

Some well-known accomplishments in biomedical engineering are cardiac pacemaker, computerized imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, artificial heart, biomechanical theories in orthopedics and sports medicine, and quantitative analyses of electrical phenomena in the brain, heart and muscle. These accomplishments have significantly impacted diagnosis and treatment of injuries and diseases. Meanwhile, achievements in many new areas of biomedical engineering, such as tissue engineering, neural engineering, and drug and gene delivery, are providing enabling technologies for improving health care in the world.

The undergraduate major in biomedical engineering at Duke University was accredited in September 1972 by the Engineering Council for Profession Development (now the Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology). It is one of the first accredited and the largest programs in biomedical engineering. It has been consistently ranked as one of the best biomedical engineering programs in the nation. The program has an excellent multidisciplinary environment, combining the resources of the top life science departments in the nation, a world-renowned medical school, and a group of exceptionally capable engineering faculty.

The curricula in this program consist of interdisciplinary courses and many research opportunities for undergraduate students. Students can receive up to two academic credits for the participation in research sponsored by the biomedical engineering faculty. Examples of the areas of research include biomechanics, cardiac electrophysiology, neuroengineering, drug and gene delivery, medical imaging, tissue engineering, biosensors, biophotonics, genomic technology and biomaterials.

All engineering students at Duke University are required to declare a major in the sophomore year. Once their major is declared, BME majors are assigned to faculty advisors in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Biomedical engineering students who want to pursue additional areas of interest can also choose to have a double-major in biomedical engineering and either electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, or other disciplines in the Trinity College.

After graduation, about one-third of our students plan to attend graduate schools in various engineering or basic science disciplines and one-fifth plan to enter medical or dental schools. (The rate of acceptance is significantly higher than the national average of all different undergraduate programs.) The rest go to law schools, business schools, industries or consulting firms.